Lawn and weed mower



April 28, 1953 G. J. MICHAELS 2,635,333

I LAWN ,AND WEED MOWER Filed Oct. 13, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET'l Ap 1953 G.J. MICHAELS 2,636,333

LAWN AND WEED MOWER Filed Oct. 15, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Apr.28, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE'a- Gilbert J. Michaels, Mattoon,Ill.

Application October 13, 1947, Serial No. 779,434

This invention relates to power driven lawn mowers, and moreparticularly to a grass and weed mower of the type employing a cuttingunit rotatable in ahorizontal plane on a vertical axis. An importantobject of the present invention is to provide a simplified and easilyoperable mower of the type referred to wherein the cutting. unit servesto support the forward end of the apparatus and to .predetermine theheight of the cut above the ground.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus wherein the cuttingunit supports the forward end of the apparatus relative to the groundsubstantially at apoint coincident with the axis, of rotation of thecutting unit, thereby eliminating the use of conventional supportingmeans and greatly reducing the friction of the movement of thepartsover'the ground. "'A further object is to provide an apparatus ofthe'character "referred to wherein the cutting unit is provided with ablade-carrying body, the" lower surface ofwhich is formed as a sectionof a'sphere adapted to contact with the ground substantially at a pointcoincident with the axis of rotation of the body and blades, suchrotation at the point referred to preventing any tendency forthe'contact of the body with the ground to move the forward end of theapparatus transversely while at the same time substantially eliminatingfriction of the body with the ground which would substantially opposeforward manual pushing of the apparatus. I

A further object is to provide novel means associated "with and carriedby the cutting unit for effectively throwing off grass and weeds toprevent the latter from' winding around the driving i .V v

further object is to provide a novel forward guard which serves the dualpurpose of stopping the apparatus short of contact of the blades withtrees, walls, 'etc., and of tilting tall grass and weeds forwardlypriorto the cutting action to minimize the falling of the cut grass and weedswill become apparent during the course of the following description.

3 Claims. (Cl. 56-255) v 2 v In the drawings I have shown. oneembodiment of the invention. In this showing: 1 I Figure 1 is a sideelevation of the apparatus with the rear wheel removed, Figure 2 is aplan View of the same, Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same some-fwhat enlarged, I Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectionalview taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2 Figure 5 is an enlargedhorizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 1,and

I Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view on line6-6 of Figure 5. i i

Referring to the drawings, the numeral ll) designates the chassis of theapparatus as a whole comprising spaced inner and outer parallel longimaybe are welded to rigidly connect-themflto.

each other I The frame-member .H and 12 are. provided with upstandingplates 18 welded thereto and provided intheir upper ends with slots .19receiv-.. ing the axles 20 of supporting wheels 2!. These wheels arepreferablyconventional front bicycle.- wheels and the. axles are securedinposition bynuts 22. threaded on the ends- 0f the axles. The rearend=of the frame members H and l2'are shortened up as much as possible,in which'case opposite sides of the frame member M are cut away as at 23to provide ample clearance for the wheels 2|.

The frame members 45,-as previously stated, form an engine mounting andany suitable engine; 25 is bolted to the frame members l5xas at 26.

In practice it is preferred that a 1 horsepowerengine 25 be employedequipped with-the usual carburetor and ignition system which need not beparticularly referred to.' The engine provided" with a conventional fueltank 27; The shaft 28 of the engine is provided with means fortransmitting power to the cutting elements to be referred to, and thismeans is preferably in the form" 3 of a V-pulley 29 around which passesa V-belt 30, as shown in Figures 1 and 2/ A vertical cylindrical housing33 is arranged against and preferably welded to the front transverseframe member 13. From the latter frame member, angle braces 34 extend tothe housing 33 and these braces are preferably welded at their oppositeends to the frame member [3 and to the housing 33, thus effectivelybracing the housing against turning movement on its axis. Upwardly andrearwardly diverging brace members 35 are welded at their forward endsto the housing 33 near the lower end thereof and at their rear ends tothe forward engine supporting frame member l5. Accordingly it will beapparent that the housing 33 is effectively braced in proper llQsition!A rotary spindle 38 extends through the housing 33 and is mounted insuitable anti-friction bearings 39 in the opposite ends of the housing,

the load represented by the spindle 38 and the elements carried therebybeing supported by a nut 49 on the spindle 38. A V-pulley 4! is carriedby the upper end of the spin le 38 and the V-belt 30 passes around thispulley. as shown.

The spindle 36 carries and drives a cuttin unit indicated as a whole bythe numeral. 45. This unit comprises a dished body formed as asection ofa sphere, as clearly shown in Figure i. It will be noted that the pointor con.- tact 4! of the lower surface of the body 46 with the surface 48of the ground lies on the axis of rotation of the spindle 38. This is animportaut ieature oi theinvention and will b further referred to below.The. lower end of the spindle 38 is provided with, a head 50 preferablyW ld to he body 46 whereby the latter is fixed to the spindle forrotation therewith. At equidistantly spaced points, the body 46 isprovided with brackets 5| having their inner en fitting a welded. to thetop suriace of the bo y 6 nd projecting radially outwardly therefrom ina horizontal plane as at 52. These projecting ends support cuttingblades 53 bolted thereto as at 54, the blades thus being readilyremovable for sharpening or replacement.

Coaxially therewith, the body 46 carries a cylindrical shell 55preferably closed at the top as at 56 and provided with radiallyoutstanding fins 51. These fins rotate with the unit 45 and tend tothrow outwardly by centrifugal force any grass which tends to accumulateon the body 45.

A substantially semi-circular guard 60 is ar ranged preferably coaxiallywith the spindle 8B and the cutting unit. It will be noted that thisguard is of somewhatlarger diameter than the ciroledeiined by the outeredges of the cutting blades 53 to project radially outwardlytherebeyond, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The guard to is also arrangeda substantial distance above the cutting blades. This guard serves toprevent the apparatus from beingmoved forwardly to bring the-blades 53into contact with trees, walls, etc., and it also serves to contact withand bend forwardly any tall grass or weeds which extend upwardly intocontact therewith. Such grassand weeds are out while being bent fowardly and accordingly tend to fall clear of the cutting unit.

The guard 50 is supported by a plurality of brace members BI connectedbetween the guard and the frame m mber 13. and centrally of the width ofthe apparatus, a relatively heavy brace 62 is welded at its endsrespectively to the guard 60 and to the sleeve 33. The guar 60 has astraight rear portion 63 extending across from 4 end to end of thesubstantially semi-circular portion 60, thus effectively bracing suchends relative to each other.

A protective guard 65, preferably formed of sheet steel, extendsdownwardly over the rear portion of the cutting unit, and has its loweredge 66 arranged substantially in a horizontal plane beneath the planeof the blades 53. The guard is transversely curved and has its edgesconverging forwardly as at!" with the forward extremity of the guard cutto fit around and welded to the sleeve 33. Depending braces 68 arewelded at their ends respectively to the guard 55 and to the rear guardbar 63. The rear center portion of the guard 65 is supported by means ofa brace so welded at its ends respectively to the guard 55 and the framememberl5.

Upstanding post members 12, preferably of angle section, are welded attheir lower ends to the guard 14 and to the inner faces of the verticalfl nges of the frame memb rs IL A handl bar 13 is bolted as at 14. toeach Post 12 and ontinues downwardly and forwardly to be bolted as at1.5 to the vertical flange of. th associated irame member it. The handlebars are show broken away in Figure 1, but it will be under stood thatthey extend upwardly to a convenient height and terminate in rearwerdlyextending hand grips, 16. These hand grips may be con veniently arrangedabout 36 inches above the ground- Operation The engine 25 drives thespindle 38 through the belt 30 and pulleys 29 and 4|, thus r0.- tatins'the cuttin unit. This unit is preferably r l y balanced to insure smoothvibrat m free operation at 1200150 1500 R. P. M. It will be noted thatthe center of gravity of the engine 25 is only Slightly behindthe'vertical plane of the wheel axles I9, and the engine is so placedthat the weight of the apparatus forwar ly of the axles I9 is nly slihtly gr at r, pr fera y about 5 lbs, than the weight of the apparatrearwardly of, the axles, 19. Thus the apparatus tends to remain inoperative posit on. i h the body 46 ontacting with the surface of thegro at the p int 4i, bu for conv nie t ran portaion from place to pla e,the pe t r r a ily may depress the handles 16. This requires littleparatus about the axis of h shaf s l and thus the apparatus readily maybe moved from place to place its-stated the body 46 n rmally contac s thground at the single point 4.1- which lies on the axis of rotation of te spindl 38- Thus frictional contact with the ground is in a periflotlycircular motion, and ther i no t nd n y t the i ict nal engagem nt o theody 45 with the ground, to cause the front end of the apps ratus to movetoward one side or the other. Thus with the exertion of substantially nolateral force on the handle 16, the apparatus may be easily guided in astraight line during the cut.- ns peration. Th blad s 53. rapidlyrotatin about the axis of th spindle .38, p rform th cutting operation.as. will be obvious.

The cutting blades exert forces a ainst the rass and weeds being cuttendin to throw such material free of the body 46. Any tendency for thecuttin material to accumulate on the top of such body, however, willcause the material to contact with the vertical fins or blades 5'! to bethrown radi lly from the body .45- Thus the elements 5! tend to preventany accumulation of from the cutting unit and the collection of the cutmaterial on the body 46 is thus minimized.

The guard 65 prevents cut material from being thrown upwardly into theengine parts; thus preventing the accumulation of grass and weeds on theengine. Moreover, the guard 65 protects the operator from injury in theevent any of the parts of the cutting unit, including the blades 53-,"should break and be thrown radially outwardly by centrifugal force.

It will be apparent that the smooth polished underside of the body 46permits it to, glide smoothly over the ground, and friction againstforward movement is minimized by the; rotation of the body 45. Thevertical distance between the point 41 and the blades 53 determines theheight of the out being made, as will be obvious."

I claim:

1. A grass and weed mower comprising a substantially vertically disposedshaft, means mounting said shaft for rotation about its axis,"a cuttingunit carried by the lower end of said-shaft and comprising a dished bodyhaving its;51ower face formed substantially as a section of a sphere,the lowermost point on said lower face being coincident with the axis ofrotation of said shaft for supporting engagement with the ground,aplurality of cutting blades fixed to the edge portions 41 of said bodyat circumferentially spaced paints, a cylindrical member concentric withsaid shaft and fixed at its lower edge to said body, said memher beingof substantially smaller diameter than said body and having its top edgearranged substantially above said body, and a plurality of radiallydisposed'fins secured to said member and rotatable therewith to preventaccumulation of weed and grass cuttings on said body.

2. Apparatus of the type set forth in claim 1 including a plurality ofbrackets fixed to the edge portions of said body at circumferentiallyspaced 10 points, said cutting blades being fixed to said brackets andextending outwardly from said body.

3. Apparatus of the type set forth in claim 1 in which said cylindricalmember comprises a shell having a top wall through which said shaftextends arranged substantially above said body,

shaft of substantially smaller diameter than said shell, and bearingmeans in said tube for said shaft.

GILBERT J. NIICHAELS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 453,634 Geiger et al. June 9, 1891 2,192,762 Vincze Mar. 5,1940 2,225,139 Urschel Dec. 17, 1940 2,245,821 Poynter June 17, 19412,263,431 White 'Nov. 18, 1941 2,302,472 Power -1 Nov. 17, 1942 52,329,185 Coddington Sept. 14, 1943 2,476,394 Webb et al. July 19, 19492,539,934 Smith Jan. 30, 1951 2,549,317 Laughlin Apr. 1'7, 1951 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 416,140 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1943

